I Am 24. Lost About 50 Lbs in 4 Months. Going Roughly from 165 to 115ish. Is This Loose Arm Skin? (photo)

I have other cosmetic concerns but cannot figure out if this is primarily loose skin or fat and if it will require procedure to correct. At my age, I hate to be insecure about this when the weight I put was primarily due to a medication. However, I yo-yoed before and my genetics tend to make me lean towards being someone who would probably always be 10-20 lbs over their ideal weight- if I didn't watch my weight. Is there a product that would help this or is lipo/lift/tighten only option?

Doctor Answers 2

Loose Arm Skin After Major Weight Loss

November 18th, 2012

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Significant weight loss can lead to laxity or sagging of the overlying skin. It can also leave the skin with striae (stretch marks) which can be very difficult to treat. Generally speaking, younger skin can rebound from weight loss much more easily and effectively. It is likely that with good emolliation (moisturizing), continued weight control and fitness, your arms will return to their pre-weight gain baseline. And from what I can tell from the pictures, your arms look pretty good as is. I would not recommend any skin tightening or fat treatments at this time. Be proud of yourself for your incredible weight loss!

Loose skin may need Skin Tyte

November 17th, 2012

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When someone looses a signifcant amount of weight, the overlying skin at an early age usually has enough elasticity to retighten and return to normal. With age, that elasticity diminshes and you have loose skin as a result. Skin can also develop stretch marks when there is signficant obesity underneath. It appears that with your age you will likely see your skin return to normal. Be sure to keep it moisturized with a cream live CeraVe or Restoraderm. If there is residual laxity there are multiple systems such as Skin Tyte, Exilis, Thermage to encourage more tightening. Give it some time at first and don't let your weight yo-yo!

Skin Tightening Pictures

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